Texas legislature adds more regulations to elections in Harris County

 Houston Chronicle:

Texas lawmakers approved two bills Tuesday aimed at Harris County elections that would give state Republicans the power to remove the county's elections administrator and allow the Texas secretary of state to oust local elections officials for "good cause" after an election complaint is filed.

The bills apply to counties with more than 3.5 or 4 million people, respectively; Harris is the only county in the state that meets those criteria.

Under Senate Bill 1933, written by Sen. Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston), Secretary of State Jane Nelson—who was appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott—can remove a local official after conducting an investigation prompted by "a recurring pattern of problems with election administration." Examples of recurring issues include a malfunctioning voting system that stops a person from casting a vote, misconduct in distributing election supplies and errors in counting results that would have impacted the outcome of an election, among others. The House approved SB 1933 in an 81-59 vote.

Senate Bill 1750 removes the elections administrator position in counties with 3.5 million people or more. In an 81-62 vote, House lawmakers voted to pass SB 1750 Tuesday afternoon.

The two bills further narrow local control of elections following Senate Bill 1, which was signed into law in 2021 and banned drive-thru voting, 24-hour voting, and added restrictions on distributing mail-in ballot applications. SB 1 was passed after Harris County expanded voter access during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As the largest county in the state, Harris County has 4.7 million residents, with 782 polling places across the county. After the 2022 midterm elections, dozens of GOP candidates filed lawsuits against the county, citing paper ballot shortages at voting centers and technical issues on machines. Republican candidates and lawmakers argue the problems on Election Day disenfranchised voters and turned away thousands of voters. But an April report by the Houston Chronicle dispelled those claims, finding that based on county data, around 21 locations lost paper on Election Day, a small fraction of the total.
...

If all or most of the precincts who got inadequate supplies were Republican it would obviously impact close elections.  It is hard to estimate how many voters were turned away at the 21 locations.  I also support the restrictions on drive-through voting, 24-hour voting, and the overuse of mail-in ballots.  When Republicans controlled Harris County as they di when I lived there, they never had these kind of problems.

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